The fine for violators is $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense within a year and up to $300 for a third offense; at that point a judge could confiscate the device.

Chief Terri Wilfong is leaving the enforcement of the ban up to the discretion of each individual officer. Officers have the option to issue a warning or write citations. But starting Tuesday, you can be pulled over if an officer sees you with a phone in your hand while driving.

Johnathan Bragg, with Greenville police, said, “The way it is defined is that we can issue tickets in public parking lots and public parking garages. For example, a shopping center such as the Bi-Lo on Verdae would be considered a public lot because it is accessible to the public. We could argue that a drive thru line could be considered public space as well, however we want to emphasize that we are not interested in that, instead we are interested in people driving on public streets while using their electronic devices. An example of private property would be someone’s yard or a privately owned business that is not accessible to everyone and we could not enforce the law there, but again we are only interested in roadways. Hope this makes sense. Greenridge would also be considered a public parking lot and we can enforce it there as well.”

The hands-free ban also applies to motorcycles, mopeds and bikes.

Johnathan Bragg, with Greenville police, said, "People will look down send a text, send an email, look up and they're almost in somebody's bumper. So it's going to help. I think it'll take a while."